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Dialogue 7day
Dialogue 7day
26-‐-‐27,
2012
Reformed/Seventh-‐-‐Day
Adventist
Dialogue
Meeting,
November
5-‐-‐7,
2011
The
second
of+icial
meeting
of
the
Reformed/Seventh-‐-‐-‐Day
Adventist
Dialogue
took
place
in
the
northern
suburbs
of
Washington
D.C.
November
5-‐-‐-‐7,
2011.
Representatives
of
the
Presbyterian
Church
(U.S.A.)
included
co-‐chair
Sheldon
Sorge,
Pastor
to
Presbytery
of
Pittsburgh
Presbytery;
Eileen
Lindner,
Pastor
of
the
Presbyterian
Church
at
Tena+ly
NJ;
Barbara
Wheeler,
Director
of
the
Auburn
Seminary
Center
for
the
Study
of
Theological
Education;
and
Carlos
Malave,
Associate
for
Ecumenical
Relations
in
the
Of+ice
of
the
General
Assembly.
(PCUSA
dialogue
participant
David
Cortes-‐-‐-‐Fuentes,
pastor
of
Emmanuel
Hispanic
Presbyterian
Church
in
Claremont
CA,
was
unable
to
attend
due
to
a
family
emergency.)
The
Christian
Reformed
Church
was
represented
by
Doug
Bratt,
pastor
of
Silver
Spring
MD
Christian
Reformed
Church.
Primary
meeting
topics
were
(1)
Worship
and
Sacraments,
and
(2)
Congregational
Life.
From
the
PCUSA
side,
Sheldon
Sorge
led
a
conversation
on
Worship
and
Sacraments,
while
Eileen
Lindner
discussed
the
contours
of
Presbyterian
congregational
life.
Dialogue
partners
from
the
Christian
Reformed
and
the
Seventh-‐-‐-‐Day
Adventist
churches
made
similar
presentations,
and
each
elicited
lively
conversation.
This
consultation
was
unique
in
that
discussions
were
anchored
in
experiences
of
worship
and
education
in
each
other’s
congregations.
On
Saturday
the
team
attended
worship
at
the
Sligo
Seventh-‐-‐-‐Day
Adventist
Church
in
Tacoma
Park,
MD,
where
PCUSA
team
member
Sheldon
Sorge
led
a
Sabbath
School
presentation
on
the
PCUSA.
Tables
were
turned
on
Sunday,
when
the
team
worshiped
at
St.
Mark
Presbyterian
Church
in
Rockville,
MD,
followed
by
a
Sunday
School
class
where
William
Johnsson
introduced
the
Seventh-‐-‐-‐Day
Adventist
Church.
All
participants
expressed
enthusiasm
for
the
vitality
of
both
our
dialogue
conversations
and
our
experience
of
worship
and
congregational
life
in
one
another’s
congregations.
This
dialogue
session
signi+icantly
advanced
the
goal
of
more
fully
understanding
one
another’s
churches.
The
Reformed
contingent
greatly
appreciated
the
vitality
and
diversity
of
Seventh-‐day
Adventist
life
and
worship,
while
the
Seventh-‐-‐-‐Day
Adventists
enthused
over
the
theological
and
missional
depth
they
witnessed
in
the
PCUSA
congregation.
The
Reformed/Seventh-‐-‐-‐Day
Adventist
Dialogue
began
as
an
exploratory
conversation
in
2006,
and
became
an
of+icial
ecumenical
dialogue
in
2010.
The
dialogue
group
will
meet
next
in
Michigan
in
September
2012.